Well, Gamers, it's over. The cries of anguish have finally subsided. The tears have been wiped away. The sun rose (twice, so far!) and set (only once, but I wouldn't worry about it). But, hey, let's take a look back at how AMAZING this Summer Game really was!

In case you are wondering if those numbers BLOW NUMBERS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS OUT OF THE WATER, the answer is YES!!!

At times like these, questions long pushed to the back of the brain percolate to the top of one's consciousness: How will I live my life without the Summer Game? What can I look for at the library if there are no codes? Where will I share my opinions about things I've read/watched/listened to? What can I accomplish if I'm not earning badges? (Answers: You did just fine before June 13th! Books, CDs, DVDs, Tools, Art Prints, etc etc etc! You can still do that in the catalog, there are just no points for it! I dunno, learn to play the zither or something!)

But you can also play all of the non-Summer Game games available at play.aadl.org! Like Points-O-Matic, where you can help us figure out which reviews are helpful and which are not with a click of your mouse and where you can help us make our amazing old newspapers more searchable by entering text from hundred-year-old pages! Or Streets Quest, a game that takes you to many of the historic streets panels around town and teaches you the history of the city around you! How about Treasure Quest, a truly bonkers set of quests the will set you to decoding and deciphering your way through the catalog!

Or...how about A BRAND-NEW SET OF QUESTS, heretofore unseen in the annals of play.aadl.org! That's right, a new game is on its way! When? SOON! (But not too soon, let us recover from the Summer Game first.) Keep your eyes on play.aadl.org to find out when this new game begins!

And don't forget about all of those Summer Game points you earned this year! The Summer Game Shop stays open until 5 PM MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH, so get there and spend spend spend!

That's all for now! You players are what makes the Summer Game GREAT, and this year has been the GREATEST YEAR EVER, so thanks for a TRULY PHENOMENAL SUMMER GAME! And, one last time for 2014...

The summer has ZOOMED by, week-by-week, badge drop-by-badge drop. We know someone else used the slogan "good to the last drop," but we REALLY MEAN IT. So, THIS (badge) drop is OVERFLOWING with 21 MARVELOUS BADGES!

Most of them declare you the MASTER of something. Want a title to flaunt to all your friends? You could be a WILD KINGDOM MASTER! Or, you could be a BUNNY HOP MASTER — slightly less imposing-sounding, but MUCH more cuddly! What will YOU MASTER? Cryptography? Botany? Exploring? You STILL HAVE TIME to finish up the last badge or two in a series and SCORE that title (and badge!).

Let's get to it:

2014 Badge Drop #12

So...there's only a teeny, tiny little bit of sand left in the METAPHORICAL HOURGLASS of the SUMMER GAME! So, waste no time, dear players! GET TO IT! Enter in your reading/listening/watching, add in those reviews you've been dreaming up, visit branches and other spots around town, and COME SAY HI at our SG Wrap Party this weekend!

There are just about 55 HOURS left until the Summer Game's STUNNING CONCLUSION! You have until 11:59 SUNDAY, AUGUST 31 to earn THOSE FINAL SUPER-SPECIAL BADGES! We KNOW you can squeak in a few more. WE BELIEVE IN YOU!

ATTENTION SUMMER GAME SHOPPERS! We're sorry for the delays in getting this last shop update out to you, as you may know, it's been ONE CRAZY SUMMER at AADL! And a lot of that is thanks to YOU! In a GOOD WAY! So here it is... the final shop update you've been waiting for. We are thrilled to release a TOTALLY NEW ITEM for the end of the game, and we hope you'll enjoy our new WAXY RAINBOW GEL STICKS! But that's not all... we also have the long-awaited release of the 2014 SUPREME SUMMER GAME MASTER SET and the 2014 PENULTIMATE PRIZE PACK, plus the TINY ERASER FANATIC SET!

And we're also happy to announce a small restock of a few hot items. We managed to find 20 more Snack Boxes, and 40 more pairs of Binoculars.. so have at them! But please, if you've already got these items, let someone else have a chance this time!

Lots of good items are still available! Remember that Summer Game 2014 ends at Midnight on August 31st, but The 2014 Summer Game Shop will close at 5 PM on Monday, September 15th! Will will also hold your items for pickup until the end of October, but Shop Orders not picked up by the end of October will be returned to the Summer Game Shop Inventory!

So, happy shopping, and we hope to see you at The Summer Game 2014 Wrap Party at Malletts Creek this Sunday from 2-4 PM! Drop in anytime to meet staff and players and earn a special badge! And as always....

Okay Summer Gamers, it's Friday, and Friday means BADGE DROP! And this week we have a very special musical episode of Summer Game Badge Drop. We've got a few new Pop Music badges for you and some musical installments of Lydia and Constellations. I guess that's it for the musical theme really, but what can you expect? Isn't part of what you love about the Summer Game how CRAZY RANDOM it is? We've got plenty for you non-music lovers, too, including a new Explorer (this time you are headed to the UM Museum of Natural History!) and TWO Player Picks from fabulous players KathyD and Zigzagog!

Let's go to the badgelist:

2014 Badge Drop #11

Now that your brains are all salivating over delicious new badges, there's something we should discuss. It's August 22, which means fall is on its way soon. And if there's one thing we leave behind in the fall (get it, leave, like the leaves fall, nevermind), its the Summer Game! That's right, there are only 10 DAYS LEFT before the Summer Game closes its doors for another season. So what does that mean for you, dear player? It means you've got until midnight on Sunday, August 31 to earn all of those badges you've been putting off, tag, rate, and review all of those items in the catalog, and get to all of those library branches, local businesses, and terrarium locales to complete your code collections! That's 10 DAYS AND COUNTING!

ATTENTION SUMMER GAME SHOPPERS! Due to popular demand, we've restocked some of our most popular items, including Milk and Dark Chocolate Logos, The Roos Roast Coffee Bundle, and the super-popular COLLAPSIBLE SNACK BOX! But that's NOT ALL! We've also restocked some items from past years, including the AADL Logo Projector Flashlight, the 2013 AADL Baseball Cap, and the AADL Red Logo Tuque! While we won't be able to restock the Colored Pencil Sets, we do have one more new item along those lines yet to come. We're getting close to the end of the game, so act fast.... all items are only available while supplies last! Happy shopping, and as always, THANKS FOR PLAYING!

We've got some goodies to give you, and those goodies are, of course, SHINY NEW BADGES!

Feeling list-less? MAKE SOME LISTS and earn the latest contribution badges! Want to get out and EXPLORE? We've got a badge in ANN ARBOR'S BIGGEST PARK! Need more animal adventures? LIONS, AND SERPENTS AND AARDVARKS, OH MY!

From constellations to creatures to a player pick (Thanks, SG Player Olivia!), we've got LOTS for you to do with this set of badges.

2014 Badge Drop #10

So, lace up your hiking shoes, dig into the story of our 7th president, don your bat-cape, and look to the sky this week! And don't forget there's still some time to catch up on any of this summer's previous badges, too!

It's Another SHOP UPDATE! For your SUMMER GAME SHOPPING pleasure, we've got an ALL-NEW Fuzzy Tablet Sleeve, an ALL-NEW design for our FAMOUS AADL Chocolate Logos, and limited availability of the last remaining sizes of AADL Summer Shirts! Super Packages yet to come... and maybe a surprise or two yet to be posted... so stay tuned, and as always, THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Oh, hi there! Did we totally OVERWHELM YOU with the SERIOUS AMOUNT OF BADGE-NESS we dropped last week? Or are you taking it all in stride? From what we've seen, we're guessing Option #2, since we can see you've been out and about to EXPLORE terrariums, branches and parks GALORE!

So, just to keep the spirit of exploration going, we've got MORE EXPLORER badges for you this time around — badges that might help you get to know the WONDERS of the U-M LIBRARIES (yep, you can go there, even if you're not a student or staff member): two for in-person hunting, and another that takes you deeper into Detroit history via some of U-M's online collections. Cool, huh? We hope you like 'em!

This week's badges reward you for commenting, so help out other players in each thread, ask questions, and join in on conversation about library events. And so far, we've seen you getting (out in the) WILD, as well as SNAPPING SHELFIES, which — we admit — are our favorite kind of selfies. Keep those coming!

2014 Badge Drop #9

We've still got a few more weeks of SUPER SUMMER FUN, so keep up the AWESOME GAME-PLAY, chime in to let us know which badges you LOVE THE MOST, and as always...

Lets end the summer with a BANG! The Ann Arbor District Library is pleased to announce that its Summer Game Geocache has returned for a second year! Use a GPS-enabled device to visit coordinates around town for FOUR virtual caches and ONE physical real-life cache! A game code (POINTS!) and a small treasure (COOL!) is all yours if you chose to find it. You can sign up for a free account at http://www.geocaching.com and learn more with their Geocaching 101 guide. You can also check out geocaching resources here in our own collection.

OHHHHHH WOW! It's a moment you've been waiting for... NEW SHOP ITEMS! While there are still surprises left to come, tonight we've added to the shop a NEW Messenger bag, a NEW lunchbox, an AMAZING NEW iPhone Case, and the RETURN of the ROOS ROAST COFFEE BUNDLE! Still to come are a NEW CHOCOLATE, a few more new items, some old favorites and packages.... so STAY TUNED and THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Featured Events

Exhibit Preview: Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit

While Diego Rivera was painting his famous Detroit Industry frescos at the Detroit Institute of Arts, he and his wife Frida Kahlo spent a tumultuous, yet highly productive, year in Detroit. Their time here from 1932 through the spring of 1933 is the focus of a new exhibit at the DIA, opening on Sunday, March 15. DIA docent Carol George will present an exhibit preview and discuss how Detroit became a pivotal force in each artist’s life and work on Thursday, March 5 at 7 pm at the Downtown Library.

Find out about all of the library's fun stuff for kids with AADL's parent page! JUMP is your stop to find recommended stuff for kids and learn about upcoming library events. Parents can also get information to plan their visit to the library an even find out about resources to help kids with their homework. It's all at jump.aadl.org!